Think like a supermarket or warehouse and strategically plan the placement of your goods so you can move about freely and access items towards the rear of your unit. The last thing you want is to be climbing over things to get to the back !

Your storage unit is 3 dimensional, take advantage of the height as much as you possibly can, for example a desk or set of drawers can have lighter / smaller items stacked on-top

Where possible use a ‘reverse-Ikea’ strategy, if a large item can be taken apart there’s a good chance it will take up far less space overall. Bed frames are a classic example of this

Hug the walls as much as possible to start with to form an outer ‘shell’ of items, and then plan to keep everything else in small rows / corridors where possible

If you have a lot of smaller items that you want quick access to, rather than boxing them up bring in shelving and stack them against inner walls of your unit

So very obvious but so often not done, if you have a number of boxed items, make sure you label their contents … you’ll save yourself a lot of time sifting through box after box in the future!

Another reminder that your Unit is 3 dimensional, and if larger / space-hungry items can safely stand vertically, this is often a far more efficient way of storing them.

Remember self storage units are not insulated and items (particularly in regional areas) can get dusty over time. Cover your fabric furniture to protect against dust, including non fabric items that can easily be scratched

Large boxes + books = potential disaster. Not only can a box packed too heavily fall apart, it’s a potential danger to anyone moving it in or out of the unit. At Stax Portland, we also have our very own box shop, filled with a range of furniture covers, bubble wraps, boxes, tapes and packing papers.

Bubble wrap, bubble wrap, bubble wrap ! The usefulness of it can’t be understated, if there’s anything you’re storing that’s even remotely fragile, don’t risk it – wrap it.

This isn’t immediately obvious but mirrors and artwork laying down is a big risk, items can be placed on-top of them inadvertently and they can be cracked or completely destroyed. Always stand these up on their side

Boxes even a few years old that have seen some regular use and been moved around a lot can be structurally unsound. The last thing you want is a box of fragile items to suddenly give way – invest in some new storage boxes. Also be careful when using supermarket boxes, as these often have food residue left behind, which makes them the first target for any mice, etc.

This one is quite important and not as commonly known, leaving batteries in unused electronics can cause them to leak and potentially damage the item or other items you have stored with it. Overall when storing vehicles, disconnect the battery if possible.

Moisture = mould = health hazard ! Make sure anything you store has all water or other fluids completely drained first. If you’re moving in the rain, make sure items are fully dry before storing.

Closing your appliances doors can cause them to smell horrid if left that way for long periods of time, not to mention if moisture is captured in side you will end up returning to a moldy appliance

It’s really important to drain fuel from any equipment before it goes into storage, it’s an obvious fire hazard and can lead to tragedy not just for your own goods but potentially the facility as a whole

It’s completely forbidden to keep anything ‘living’ in self storage

Plants fall under the category of something biological / living and cannot be kept in self storage

If it’s illegal, we don’t want it anywhere near our storage facility, and anyone caught in the act risks authorities being notified

Yes it does happen, and no you cannot setup camp in your storage unit. If it’s suspected you’re living out of your storage unit even for short periods of time you risk having your rental agreement terminated